One of Our Running Backs Is Missing
| Special = | Introducing = | and = | Appearance = | Also = | Co = | With = | Uncredited = | Uncertain = | Producer = Kenneth Johnson | Writer = Kenneth Johnson and Elroy Schwartz | Teleplay = | Story = | Director = Lee Majors | Production = 43001 | Original = November 2, 1975 | Prev = Target in the Sky | Next = The Bionic Criminal | Related = }} Summary On the day before an important football game at the Rose Bowl, star running back Larry Bronco is drugged and kidnapped by Bobby La Port, a disgruntled over-the-hill fellow player. His plan is to keep Bronco out of the game, thus affecting the final score. This will enable the La Port and his gang of kidnappers to make a fortune betting on the pre-game point spread. Steve Austin locates Bronco and together they take on the kidnappers in a titanic "scrimmage." Quotes Larry Bronco: What are you doing to keep fit? Steve Austin: You think I'm looking flabby? Larry: I'm not talking about how you look, I'm asking what kind of shape you're in; what's under your skin? Steve: You'd be surprised. ---- Rick La Port: You gotta trust me. This is a hand picked crew, all guys I met in prison and they're beautiful. ---- Larry Bronco: I'm asking what kind of shape you're in. What's under your skin? Steve: You'd be surprised. ---- Steve: Now Oscar, who's a good bookie? Oscar: What! A bookie? Steve: Oscar, you were a public prosecutor in this town. You must know a good bookie. Oscar: Me? Me know a good bookie? Are you crazy? Steve: Oscar. Oscar: Well... ---- George Yokum: I'll tell you Mr. Austin, Goldie (referring to Oscar) is one beautiful guy. Steve: Goldie? ---- Steve: That truck, Larry, is our ticket to freedom. Larry: Might as well be the moon. Steve: Yeah, well, I've been to the moon. It's not as far as you think, pal. Trivia * Lee Majors directed this episode, his first and only. * During 1975, Larry Csonka was playing in the World Football League for the Memphis Southmen. Less than two weeks before this episode aired, the WFL folded midseason on October 22, 1975. * Tatashore mentions that Larry Bronco was named MVP in Super Bowl VII, while in real life, Larry Csonka was named MVP in Super Bowl VIII. * Csonka was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 and his #39 was retired by the Miami Dolphins in 2002. In the episode, Larry Bronco is wearing #39 on his jersey. * Dick Butkus retired from the Chicago Bears and the NFL due to knee injuries; a problem he shares with his on-screen character. Rather than rigging the point spread to secure his financial future, Butkus filed a lawsuit against the Bears in 1975. * Larry Bronco and Steve Austin played football in high school together and played a championship game against rival Stowe High School. In real life, Larry Czonka attended Stow High School in Ohio. Bionics * As Steve bionically runs across a field, Tatashore observes him running in fast motion. This is a another reminder that the slow motion effect is a dramatic device standardly used to emphasize Steve's speed to the television audience behind the fourth wall, while to characters within the story, Steve appears to move very fast (see also "Nuclear Alert"). The exception to this "rule" is when it's more effective to show Steve in fast motion regardless of the fourth wall, as when he's removing nuts, bolts, and screws in fast motion (e.g. "Survival of the Fittest," "The Price of Liberty," and "Kill Oscar (Part II)") Mythology * Oscar Goldman was a public prosecutor in Pasadena. He is affectionately referred to as "Goldie" by George Yokum, a "bookie" he once prosecuted. * Steve Austin and Larry Bronco went to high school together and played on the football team. On the night before the championship game in their senior year, they posted taunting signs in front of Stowe High School, home of the opposing team. But Stowe ended up beating them 60-0. * Doyle's Den is a "bookie" bar in Pasadena. Gaffes * Larry says he bought a ranch near his hometown in Ohio. If he went to high school with Steve, he should have been from Ojai. * Larry says to Steve, "Hey, Steve, now that these guys can recognize us, I don't think they're going to turn us loose." Steve replies, "How right you are." But Czonka got his sentence mixed up; he should have said, "now that we can recognize them... Nitpicks *Steve uses bionic strength when bowling and subsequently smashes the pins to pieces. Targeting the pins with his bionic eye would have been sufficient to win the game, as demonstrated in his tennis match against another old friend, Fred Sloan in "Day of the Robot." Gallery Image:Vlcsnap-363750.jpg| Image:Vlcsnap-365750.jpg| Image:Vlcsnap-368075.jpg| Image:Vlcsnap-368790.jpg| Image:Vlcsnap-373769.jpg| Image:Vlcsnap-374495.jpg| Image:Vlcsnap-374567.jpg| Image:Vlcsnap-375454.jpg| Image:Vlcsnap-375739.jpg| Image:Vlcsnap-376105.jpg| Image:Vlcsnap-376390.jpg| Image:Vlcsnap-376851.jpg| 308